Tool for expelling the contents of collapsible tubes



Nov 8, 1955 M. H. MONTGOMERY ET AL 2,723,050

TOOL FOR EXPELLING THE CONTENTS OF' COLLAPSIBLE TLLBES Filed Jan. 24, 1955 n.1 uw

United States Patent O TOOL FOR EXPELLING THE CONTENTS F COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Maxson H. Montgomery and Norman D. Helmer, Long Beach, Calif.

Application January 24, 1955, Serial No. 483,642

Claims. (Cl. Z22-103) This invention relates to a tool whereby the contents of a collapsible tube may be expelled in a simple and effective manner. The tubes for which our tool is particularly applicable are tubes containing a medicinal preparation, such as certain antibiotics, or other pharmaceuticals such as those used in the dairy industry, and where it is necessary to expel lsubstantially large quantities of a medicine out of the needle of a collapsible tube.

An object of our invention is to provide a novel tool of the character stated, in which the jaws are so constructed and arranged that the collapsible tube will be effectively pressed together from its bottom to its upper end, and without separating the thin cylindrical body of the tube from the relatively heavy shoulder at the cap end of the tube.

Another object of our invention is to provide a novel tool of the character stated, in which one of the jaws is provided with a sleeve formed of relatively soft rubber or a yieldable plastic, this sleeve bearing against the collapsible tube and imparting a rolling or kneading action to the tube so that the material is more effectively expelled from the needle or open end thereof.

Another object of our invention is to provide a novel tool of the character stated, in which tubes of various lengths may all be accommodated between the jaws of the tool and the material from all of them will be expelled with equal efficiency.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of our tool for expelling the contents of collapsible tubes and showing the tube in position.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of our tool with the rubber band in section.

Figure 3 is an end view of our tool.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of our tool as viewed from the top in Figure l.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, our expelling tool includes a pair of handles 1 and 2 which are pivotally mounted on the pin 3. The handle 1 includes a jaw 4 integrally formed therewith and this jaw is formed with a flat engaging face 5. The handle 2 is also formed with an integral jaw 6 and this jaw is also formed with a flat inner face 7 which is oppositely arranged to the flat face 5 of the jaw 4. The jaw 6 is bent outwardly in a loop, as shown at S, and this loop is then bent inwardly into a llat wall 9. The wall 9 is then formed with a groove 10 and the purpose of this groove is to receive the cap end of the collapsible tube 11, substantially as shown in Figure l. The collapsible tube 11 is positioned with its outer threaded end protruding through the slot 10 and with its heavy conical end 12 bearing against the wall 9. The needle 13 on the tube (if any) thus ice projects outwardly and can be used in normal manner. The ilat face 5 of the jaw 4 is curved upwardly, as shown at 14, and the purpose of this curve is to press in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube 11 and not transversely of the tube, so as to avoid tearing the light metal of the tube away from the cap 12. The flat face 7 is also formed with a similar curved surface 15 which cooperates with the curve 14 previously described, and avoids tearing or puncturing the collapsible tube.

To more electively extrude the material from the tube 11 we provide a band 16 which is preferably formed of rubber or a soft and yieldable plastic, and this sleeve is mounted on the jaw 4. The jaw 4 is recessed, as shown at 17, to receive the sleeve or band and the lower face of this sleeve or band is somewhat thicker than the remaining parts of the band, so that it will more readily compress or yield and will, therefore, tend to roll or knead the tube 11 as the jaws 4 and 6 are pushed together by manipulation of the handles 1 and 2. The lower face of the sleeve 16 conforms substantially to the liat face 5 of the jaw 4, and as the two jaws are pressed together this yieldable sleeve will distort somewhat, permitting the surface of the tube to be rolled or kneaded to the end that the materialis rst expelled from the bottom of the tube and is then gradually entirely emptied when the jaws are in the position shown in Figure 2.

Having described our invention, we claim:

l. A tool for expelling the contents of a collapsible tube comprising a pair of handles, means pivotally mounting the handles together, a jaw projecting from each of the handles, a flat face on each of said jaws, the outer ends of each of said at faces being curved outwardly to avoid tearing the collapsible tube placed therebetween, an inwardly projecting wall on the outer end of one of said flat faces, said wall having a slot therein through which a part of the tube projects.

2. A tool for expelling the contents of a collapsible tube comprising a pair of handles, means pivotally mounting the handles together, a jaw projecting from each of the handles, a flat face on each of said jaws, and a sleeve formed of a nonmetallic resilient material mounted on one of said jaws.

3. A tool for expelling the contents of a collapsible tube comprising a pair of handles, means pivotally mounting the handles together, a jaw projecting from each of the handles, a flat face on each of said jaws, and a sleeve formed of a nonmetallic resilient material mounted on one of said jaws, said sleeve encircling the jaw and extending across the flat face of said jaw.

4. A tool for expelling the contents of a collapsible tube comprising a pair of handles, means pivotally mounting the handles together, a jaw projecting from each of the handles, a flat face on each of said jaws, the outer ends of each of said ilat faces being curved outwardly to avoid tearing the collapsible tube placed therebetween, and a sleeve formed of a nonmetallic resilient material mounted on one of said jaws.

5. A tool for expelling the contents of a collapsible tube comprising a pair of handles, means pivotally mounting the handles together, a jaw projecting from each of the handles, a at face on each of said jaws, the outer ends of each of said at faces being curved outwardly to avoid tearing the collapsible tube placed therebetween, and a sleeve formed of a nonrnetallic resilient material mounted on one of said jaws, said sleeve encircling the jaw and extending across the flat face of said jaw.

Roach Oct. 28, 1919 Clegg Sept. 2, 1924 

